The last 5 years...

The last 5 years have sure been a whirl wind of ups, downs, goods, and bads. I am not sure I was ever ready for it all, but I would not trade any of it and am grateful for the opportunities I have been afforded by my time here, but in and out of the lab. As I started packing a few weeks ago I began to think of everything that has happened in my life in the last 5 years.

Also, I must note, and will elaborated on soon in the near future, my last night was quite a fitting end as things came full circle while sitting out enjoying a cool summer evening at The Pig. Glenn almost got in a fight because of some obnoxious, biligerent drunk, which is what happened the first time I went to The Pig with him, however, last night there was also a French Canidian named Mary involved.


1. lost both of my grandmothers, one to cancer and one to complications of heart failure
2. become an aunt twice and am very excited to be moving closer to my nieces
3. had the addition of 4 other babies in my extended family
4. traveled to Europe for the first time and visited, The Netherlands (Amsterdam), France (Paris, Arachon, Toulouse), Italy (Rome), Spain (Barcelona), and Germany (Bamberg & Munich)
5. visited Madison WI, San Francisco CA, Breckenridge CO, Washington DC, and Balitmore MD for the first time
6. traveled to Chicago, Indy, New Orleans, Tampa, and New York
7. published 6 peer-reviewed publications
8. received a pre-doctoral fellowship from the American Heart Association
9. had an appendectomy (that prohibited my Bahamas vacation)
10. brought my first a new (used) car
11. testified in court as a victim of vandalism
12. had my first (and hopefully last) root-canal
13. got my first pet that I hope to have a very long time
14. stayed in the same apartment for all 5 years
15. went on my first bar-crawl (thanks Hartman & Klemen)
16. free-style walked (and fell) on a large planter on Green Street
17. performed brain surgery on a mouse
18. had an experiment that had to start at 3AM
19. developed a love for wine
20. had my heart broken twice by the same person
21. took an overnight train ride
22. my parents got divorced
23. never pulled an all-nighter
24. saw numerous shows, including the “Full Monty” at The Station Theater in Urbana – I highly recommend their shows
25. was propositioned by a stranger to for a ménage à trois
26. was in a homecoming parade at my alma mater
27. got a tattoo on the inside of my left ankle of a star-gazer lily
28. started a blog (which you know, because you are currently reading it)
29. had two roommates and four other friends stay for extend periods of time, including my “rent-a-husband”
30. saw the following concerts: Cake, Kanye West, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Fall Out Boy
31. attended my first Big 10 college basketball and football games
32. took up a part-time job as a waitress for about 6 months because I was kind of bored and missed it
33. ‘moon-lighted’ as a quzie-personal trainer
34. fell rollerblading for the first time ever
35. took a road trip to Las Vegas
36. went to 6 weddings (1 bride’s maid, 1 maid-of-honor)
37. cooked a live lobster
38. lost my camera in Chicago during a bachelorette party
39. ate an atomic-nuclear-rib…OMG!
40. saw the following muscials: Rent, Urine Town, West Side Story, Hair Spray, Seussical The Musical, Wicked
41. went white water rafting on the Arkansas rive in Colorado
42. hosted my first keg party
42. learned to like drinking beer, especially German wheat beer
43. chased a bus
44. subbed on the on the Crack Monkey softball team a few times
45. won the NSGSA bake-off two years in a row

Last day of work

I only have a few more hours until I turn in my keys and take the last box of my desk to my car. It was a strange feeling driving in this morning knowing that was my last time making the drive I (and sometime the bus) have driving for 5 years. I took care of the last paperwork, went around and said good-bye to a few colleagues in the building, and cleaned off my desk. Even as I sit at my desk with just my computer, it still hasn't seem to have sunken in yet. I don't think it will for awhile until I start at the new lab in August. So far no tears, but I am sure they are to come. It has been an amazing adventure I am not sure I was ready for, but would do again in a heartbeat.

East Coast Tour

As promised here are the (tentative) details for the East Coast leg of my last-summer-vacation.

• July 10th: Drive out to Rochester, NY to see Peggy (II), an undergrad who worked in the lab
• July 11th: Drive to Long Island to see the family
• July 12th: Going to see the Mets play Cinncy
• July 13th: Head in to the City to see Marisa and maybe some other friends and just hang out in NYC
• July 14th: Drive to Plymouth, MA to see Diana and Min-Yang and hang out in Plymouth for a few days
• July 16th: Drive to Cambridge, MA and stay with Erik for a few days. Explore Cambridge a bit and hopefully I'll be able to meet up with family in Hopkinton for dinner.

• July 17th: Thanks to Andy's suggestions I will head to the northend and visit Mike's Pastry to get a famous cannoli, stop to the Union Oyster House - the oldest restaurant in America!! Then it is onto Fanueil Hall Market. During this time I will be making my way down the Freedom Trail to see all the historic sites. That evening is dinner with Peggy (I) and Klemen.
• July 18th: Duck Boat Tour and more general site seeing (any suggestions?)

• July 19th: Drive to New Bedford to meet up with Vicki and family then it is off to Martha's Vineyard for a few days to celebrate Vicki's birthday
• July 22nd: Drive home
  

Last week

This week before I leave the lab I have to get the rebuttal for the paper written and off to Greg and hopefully finish the post-doc grant. I'm meeting on the 7th with the new boss to get everything figured out before I take off on vacation.

Tuesday:

• Meeting with ACES PR rep to go over the press release for my last publication.
• Go to McKinley if I haven't started to kick this cold
• Pull up the (remnant) carpet and through it away!
  

Wednesday:

• Habitat is coming to pick-up the desk and dresser
• Craiglister is coming to get the microwave (5 days without a microwave, this'll be interesting)
• Whiskey with Andy to get his 'must-see' list for Boston
• Dinner and drinks with Darren and Tina
  

Thursday:

• Ideally playing hookie with Desiree, 'ritas at the pool
• Shopping for party supplies
• Dinner with Mina
  

Friday:

• Last day of work. Turn in keys, fill-out exit forms, good-byes, hopefully with minimal tears
• Something in evening with lots of alcohol since I'm sure I'll need it
  

Saturday: Farewell party

Sunday: Finish packing and clean

Goodbyes

"Why can't we get all the people together in the world that we really like and then just stay together? I guess that wouldn't work. Someone would leave. Someone always leaves. Then we would have to say good-bye. I hate good-byes. I know what I need. I need more hellos." Charles M. Schulz

The goodbyes have begun this week and it is hard, harder than I thought. Waiting around for this big change to happen and tying up all the lose ends has been a bit depressing. I feel that I am in this strange limbo in which I am here but not really needed for anything. Lots of conversations in and out of the lab making plans for next week and next month are going on around me and there's not much for me to contribute. I'm determined not to just sit around in my half-boxed-up-apartment for the next week, even though it is a challenge not to continually think about just how few days I have left to enjoy the company of my friends.

I had lunch with my good friend Meg on Friday to say farewell. Her sister, Nell, and husband live in Ann Arbor which means that not only will I see Meg and Chuck when they come to visit, but I have a few friends already in Ann Arbor.

I also said so-long to Diana last night after an enjoyable evening of dinner and theater. I will see her soon, as they are one of several friends moving to Massachusetts whom I will see in July on my East Coast tour. Additionally, as a precaution, I said adieu to Melissa. She will be gone all next week and is returning the evening of my Bon-Voyage party, so depending on travel etc., last night maybe the last time I see her until I visit again.


Tonight is Vicki's last night in town as they are packing up and heading, as well, to Massachusetts. Vicki is one of a few people (you know who you are) that it will be very difficult to say goodbye to. We started our PhDs at the same time and have become not only great colleagues but life-long friends. I will miss her laugh, warm-spirit, great advice, and spontaneity. Thankfully, her and soon-to-be-husband, Erik, are part of my East Coast tour. I am thankful that I will be able to celebrate her 30th birthday on Martha's Vineyard with her, Erik, and her family.

Cable

I have completed several things on the moving 'to-do' list in the last several days, including:

1. Establishing renters insurance for the new place. I am amazed at just wide the price ranges was. AAA won out and was almost $100 cheaper than everyone else.
2. Canceled my bank account at Busey and am now banking exclusively with Chase - thanks John.
3. I've started the change of address process. There are a lot of places (credit cards, cell phone, USPS, alma mater, UIUC, old apartment) I need to make sure this happens. Thankfully most bills are on-line, so statements won't get lost.
4. I got Thank You cards for all the people at lab. Filling them out yesterday was hard, this whole thing is hard.
5. Finalizing the vacation to the East Coast July 10-21; more to come on those details.
6. I have to go to McKinley and get the last of the refills on my Rx this afternoon.
7. I need to schedule a pick-up with Habitat for some furniture.
   

The next big thing to accomplish today is cable. Any and all thoughts and suggestions on experiences with different cable providers is welcomed. At Country Fair we have a great deal with Illicom, which of course is not an option in Ann Arbor. My new complex uses Comcast, but I can do Direct TV or Dish. My biggest concern is the weather and service cutting out. Also, I'm looking in to other internet options. Comcast is running a 6 month special, but they are crazy expensive after that. I think for this my only other option in Verizon, but I have to look more in to that.

Little of this and a little of that

Wrap-up of somethings from this week:

Literature
Forgot to mention I finished World War Z while on vacation in Breckenridge. I highly recommend it, although beware of the looks when you start talking about zombies. It was a really solid read and easily broken up in sections (a style I really like). I really enjoyed how Brooks weaved the story of the war into the personal interviews. My overall conclusion is that if there is ever a zombie or nuclear war, I am running as fast as I can straight in to the heart of it; I sure don't want to be around for the aftermath.

I also started and finished yesterday The Last Lecture. This has been on my reading list for quite awhile. It was a super quick read, even for me. It was enjoyed, which sounds kind of morbid, but once I stopped thinking that these were the words of a dead man, it was a lot like the Chicken Soup Books and Don't Sweat the Small Stuff. There were a few times this week while reading on the bus that I had to put the book down for fear of shedding a few tears. I think it was very well written, insightful, and thought provoking making me think of what I would want people to know and remember about me.

I picked up Under The Banner Of Heaven and When You Are Engulfed In Flames. The first was due to rave, I mean rave, recommendations from a new grad student, Christy I met out at Whiskey Wednesday, and the later is because I have greatly enjoyed everything else by David Sedaris. Not sure yet which I'll start with.


Computers
I, well actually Glenn, got the new MacBook up and running in full capacity with Parallels and XP. I must admit I was a just a little proud when I found the key code to install Office. The writing on the CD itself (a copy from a friend) wasn't correct, so Glenn wasn't able to install it. I messed around with things when I got home and found a Text doc on the CD that had the key. I'm sure Glenn could've found it, but he was probably tired of working on all my computer stuff - Thanks Glenn!!


I also finally got an external hard drive today. Since I'm transferring so much between computers and am going to be a professional here in a few weeks, figured it was about time.




Lab
Finished my last experiments ever in Greg's lab this week. The results are still under debate. I have to work out the stats for the lethality studies. I'll I've got to say is I am sure glad that is done and I won't be around to figure out what's going on; three weeks of septic and dying mice does not put one in a good mood.

I must admit I had a few tears when I was finishing the 2nd experiment on Thursday. I think between all the dead mice and the moving, I'm a tad bit over-emotional.

The 2nd experiment was from the "Scientific Progress" posts. So all in all, it looks like that took just about 3 months from start to finish.

I'm a little concerned about getting everything back to the Journal of Immunology before I leave. Greg is on vaca this week and so we'll only have one week when he's back to weave this new and interesting data in to the paper.
I reviewed my first publication this week for Brain Behavior and Immunity.

Last lab lunch at Timpone's was Friday :(


Moving
I am down a couch and a dining room table. It is really interesting to me how certain things on Craigslist go SO fast. Both of those were sold within 36 hours of posting, but I still have not had much luck with the desk and dresser.

I've packed all the boxes I've collected, so it is back to scavenging the hallways of ERML for boxes - it's looking pretty bare.

The boxes have made their way in to the kitchen.


Vicki leaves on Saturday :( but I'll see her in a few weeks when I head out east to DC, NY, and Boston for leg 2 of the big summer vacation.

Finally, I bought some hiking boots for the UP and Scotland. It was an expensive day: boots, hard drive, and books.

Pictures

Since I am not sure if and or how to put up a photo album on the blog, you can see the pics from the CO trip here or here if you are a on Facebook.

Up-date and count down

I think that this is one of the few trips that I have taken in which all the travels plans went 110% smoothly!! This was a great start to a fun-filled and very enjoyable conference and vacation. Thankfully the thick fog on Tuesday morning did not interfere with our flight out of BMI and our transfer at O'hare and rental car pick-up all went off with out a hitch. We were a tad bit disappointed driving out of Denver west to Breckenridge, because it took quite awhile to see any mountains.

The resort where we stayed for the conference was spectacular and we had a wonderful view. The hotel/condo was very comfortable and had plenty of room, including a full kitchen in which we stocked with snacks from the City Market. We took part of the amenities of the resort, including the pools and hot tubes.

The conference was enjoyable and it was good to connect with friends who I seemingly only see at these things. I took a little time off in the morning and took at walk around town and got a pedicure. We had a delicious dinner at the Blue River Bistro on Wednesday as a lab.

Wednesday was also our white water rafting experience on the Arkansas River. It was a BLAST!! Our guide, Alan was this 52 year-old hippie who had been rafting for almost 25 years. It was great to have all his stories and insights in to the different areas of the river. The rest of the week was great and the closing banquet was a ton of fun, dancing, and being crazy. My knees are still feeling it.







Now I am in the home stretch. My dad and brother will be here 3 weeks from today to pack me up and move. I sold a few more things on Craigslist today and have a few to go. It is a crazy week at the lab getting the last, and I mean last, experiments done, as well as getting the next draft of my post-doc grant to the new boss. I keep reminding myself only 3 weeks until I have a 2 month vacation.

Things left to do:

1. Set up utilities in the new apartment
2. Close my bank account
3. Pack, pack, pack
4. Finish planning the Scotland vacation and settle on the dates for visiting the East Coast
5. Clean-up and pack my desk at lab
6. Figure out my new MacBook
7. Numerous other odds and ends
   

From Breckenridge

We got here safe and with no travel problems, lets hope that is true for the way home. We did encounter a pretty heavy snow/rain mix between Denver and here, which we affectionately dubbed, snane.

The resort is beautiful. We have a two floor, two bed room, two bathroom sweet with a full kitchen, fire place, and great view of the mountains. We took a dip in the in door/out door pool and hot tube this evening as well as stopped at the local Kroger and liquor store for our supplies for the week.

Tomorrow is the rafting trip, it'll be a bit cold, but a great adventure.

Summer vacation: Part I

My summer vacation officially begins tomorrow, well for the most part. I am going to Breckenridge, CO for 5 days. Granted it is for a conference, but, that's neither here nor there. We are staying at an amazing resort, going white water rafting, having great food, and an even better time with friends.

We are staying at the Beaver Run Resort which includes outdoor and indoor pools, several bars, spa, eight hot tubs, exercise room, sauna and steam room, tennis courts, and arcade games.



On Wednesday we are going white water rafting on the Arkansas River. We are taking the Royal Gorge trip that will take about half a day.







I'll up-date if there are any great misadventures to report!!